Indian epic romance "Raavan" is breathtaking
LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Filled with rich colors and lively action, Mani Ratnam's classically themed epic "Raavan" brings together the mythology of Indian culture and the flair and fun of Bollywood with tremendous flourish.
Cinematographers Manikandan and Santosh Sivan with production designer Samir Chanda and editor A. Sreekar Prasad serve Ratnam superbly with images, settings and vitality that take one's breath away.
Success is inevitable throughout India and with expat audiences. Such is the flare of the filmmaking that international audiences also can be expected to respond positively. The 130-minute film opens Friday in Britain.
The story is drawn from the legend of Ramayana, Raavan, a 10-headed demon-god who kidnaps Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. He must hack off all those heads in order to recover his beloved. Top Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai plays Ragini, the ravishing wife of a police inspector she calls Dev. He is played by the actor Vikram, who has moved to take over policing a remote part of Northern India filled with jungles, ravines, imposing cliffs and waterfalls. Abhishek Bachchan (Rai's real-life husband) plays Beera Munda, a multifaceted character whom some regard as a criminal but others revere as a benefactor.
When Beera's family is brutally victimized by the police during a wedding, he retaliates by kidnapping Ragini and taking her deep into the mountainous outback. Dev sets out with his men to bring her back.
Shot in two versions in the Hindi and Tamil languages -- the Hindi version will play in most international territories -- the film mixes styles with great invention so that the drama is filled with intensity. There also are dynamic musical sequences enhanced by the irresistible music of A. R. Rahman, Oscar-winning composer of the "Slumdog Millionaire" score. These musical sequences include a splashing war dance at a jungle temple, a romantic portrait of domestic bliss and a celebration of impending nuptials; the choreography is as bold and striking as the music.
Vikram cuts a strong figure as the police officer, though in his dark glasses, he often resembles a sinister hard man from a film about a South American dictator. Bachchan has fun with a character who is fierce, passionate and dangerous but also comic in his self-doubt over whether to kill his captive or make love to her. As for Rai, the camera adores her just as it loves the mist on the river, the rainfall in the jungle and the white water surging over rocky cliffs. She, too, is a force of nature. The film makes the most of it.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE65H0K420100618Raavan opens to rave reviews in the US
Mani Ratnam's "Raavan" is getting rave reviews in the American media with the New York Times making it "a Critics' Pick", a distinction rarely if ever earned by an Indian film.
The Los Angeles Times as also entertainment trade papers "Variety" and "Hollywood Reporter" too have praised the film that opened Friday on over 2200 screens around the world in 35 countries including US and Canada.
"Raavan" has "Bollywood glamour aplenty, with the lovely if occasionally dramatically challenged Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bachchan's wife, playing the Sita stand-in, " said the New York Times. "The real star, though, is Ratnam, a talented visual storyteller who directs action crisply and fills the screen with striking images."
"Artful but not arty, Ratnam, whose films include 'Dil Se' and 'Guru, ' delivers the goods, " said the influential mainstream daily praising A. R. Rahman's "excellent score" and "an eye-popping climactic battle... on a teetering suspension bridge."
"And that, folks, is entertainment, " was the Times' verdict.
The Hollywood Reporter looks at "Raavan" as a "Pan-Indian saga with epic sweep, intense emotion and gorgeous images."
"Filled with rich colours and lively action, Mani Ratnam's classically themed epic brings together the mythology of Indian culture and the flair and fun of Bollywood with tremendous flourish, " it says.
Praising cinematographers Manikandan and Santosh Sivan, production designer Samir Chanda and editor A. Sreekar Prasad for serving "Ratnam superbly with images, settings and vitality that take one's breath away, " the publication thinks "success is inevitable throughout India and with expat audiences."
"Such is the flare of the filmmaking that international audiences also can be expected to respond positively."
"Consistently one of India's most versatile and exciting directors, Ratnam angles for one of his bigger commercial vehicles by mixing knockout action sequences, primal dramatic elements and superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who stays ravishing even as she's sent through the physical wringer opposite husband and co-star Abhishek Bachchan, " says Variety.
"Stellar cast and good word of mouth look to draw strong B.O. worldwide, " it forecasts.
In the Los Angeles Times' view "Bollywood superstar Abishek Bachchan has the title role of the romantic adventure epic, but the movie belongs to his exquisite real-life wife Aishwarya Rai."
"Ratnam and his colleagues give Bollywood fans full value. Ratnam's pace is steadfastly brisk, and his film is replete with dizzying camerawork, myriad complications, violent mayhem, broad humour, usual musical interludes, a cliffhanging climactic confrontation and a finish that strikes a note of poignancy."
http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=37675
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Cricket
55